Portland, Tennessee Blog

Here's something to be thankful for: It's December 5th and the last report on MRSA was posted on November 15th. Does anyone know any of the students who had it and how they are doing?

UPDATE FROM SUMNER COUNTY SCHOOLS WEBSITE:

11/14/07: A case of MRSA Staph infection was confirmed at North Sumner Elementary School on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Notices will be sent home to parents this afternoon. Out of an abundance of caution, additional cleaning is underway at the school.

This brings to six the number of Sumner County schools with confirmed MRSA Staph infection cases: J.W. Wiseman Elementary, Beech High, Gene Brown Elementary, Gallatin High School, Clyde Riggs Elementary, and North Sumner Elementary.

I don't like inmates cleaning the schools either. For two reasons: the health of the inmates is uncertain and what could they bring in...and that inmates can learn the layout of the schools and learn too much about getting into and out of the schools. Who knows when the inmates get out of jail, if they are child molestors, they have too much knowledge of where rooms are located, etc.
If they are thiefs, they see where all the computers are and things in the office to come back and steal. I think it's very unwise to have inmates in our schools for any reason.

School cleaning should be a professional cleaning job. If our children aren't worth the expense it requires to ensure their safety, then something is wrong with the system.

Is the cleaning job they do inspected by the health dept. afterwards ?

This is a new article that was just published today at 2:30 on MRSA. I hope others find it helpful.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071111/ap_on_he_me/staph_infections

They have inmates come in to clean the schools because it is free. I don't agree with this because it involves the health of our children but it is the truth.

We all know how the Board claims that we don't have enough money in the budget.

FROM THE SUMNER COUNTY SCHOOLS WEB SITE

11/6/07: A case of MRSA Staph infection was confirmed at Clyde Riggs Elementary School on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Notices will be sent home to parents this afternoon. Out of an abundance of caution, additional cleaning is underway at the school.

DA- I agree with you on every point except that anyone but a professional should sanitize a school, or any other public building, that has been contaminated with deadly infectious organisms of any kind. We'll just have to agree to disagree, but there are no hard feelings. Everyone is entitled to their opinions.

JW:
Thanks for a good laugh. No, I do not, nor have I ever, owned a lovely black-and-white striped suit. Once, in 1969, I got a traffic ticket, but that has been my only brush with the Law. Actually, I am the mother of four high school graduates (two of them Honor Students) and a grandmother of two. I have seen a lot of flak in my 35 years of parenting.

What I was reacting to was not the fear of MCRA in our schools. That is, and will continue to be, a huge concern for grandparents (like me) as well as for parents. It's just that I could see the whole "inmate" issue spiraling out of control.

I, for one, think that it's a good thing for the inmates to do something positive, and Lord knows the schools need the help. I'm sure the administration has enough sense to keep any children away from the areas where the inmates may be working. I also believe that, when appropriate, the inmates should do something to "earn their keep." Those are OUR tax dollars, folks.

Michelle;
I know I'm from another era, but I get tired of the attitude that whenever there is a problem, then "THEY" must not be doing things right. (Whoever "they" are). I feel that yes, those are my children, and it is MY responsibility to get involved in issues that pertain to them. If that means going to the school and putting on a pair of gloves and cleaning the bathrooms, then so be it. Nothing is accomplished by complaining and pointing fingers, unless it is accompanied by action.

JW:
Thanks for a good laugh. No, I do not, nor have I ever, owned a lovely black-and-white striped suit. Once, in 1969, I got a traffic ticket, but that has been my only brush with the Law. Actually, I am the mother of four high school graduates (two of them Honor Students) and a grandmother of two. I have seen a lot of flak in my 35 years of parenting.

What I was reacting to was not the fear of MCRA in our schools. That is, and will continue to be, a huge concern for grandparents (like me) as well as for parents. It's just that I could see the whole "inmate" issue spiraling out of control.

I, for one, think that it's a good thing for the inmates to do something positive, and Lord knows the schools need the help. I'm sure the administration has enough sense to keep any children away from the areas where the inmates may be working. I also believe that, when appropriate, the inmates should do something to "earn their keep." Those are OUR tax dollars, folks.

Michelle;
I know I'm from another era, but I get tired of the attitude that whenever there is a problem, then "THEY" must not be doing things right. (Whoever "they" are). I feel that yes, those are my children, and it is MY responsibility to get involved in issues that pertain to them. If that means going to the school and putting on a pair of gloves and cleaning the bathrooms, then so be it. Nothing is accomplished by complaining and pointing fingers, unless it is accompanied by action.

I don't think that many were concerned about the inmates having "cooties" as one blogger so eloquently put it, but rather that decontamination should be left to professionals.
(and I also think some may have been concerned that inmates were there while children were presents . . . which I don't believe was the case.)

And about the comment that parents, who are no more qualified than the inmates, should have volunteered . . .that is ridiculous. We are not talking about chaperoning a trip, or picking up trash after a party or something. We are talking about properly and meticulously sanitizing a school for a infectious organism that is antibiotic resistant and deadly.

As for parents "over-reacting" - I don't think anyone who has expressed concern has crossed any lines of reasonableness.

My husband died from staph infections at jewish hospital in louisville ky.
the place is dirty, needs cleaned. instead of telling everyone to wash their hands its the hospitals faults that their cleaning crews arent doing their jobs.
my husband didnt have any infection til he went to jewish.
he was 57 years old.
KNSlots294@aol.com

DA,

How dare you even attempt call worried parents anything......These are my children I am worried about and I have a right to be, so back off!!!

You wouldn't happen to be either a former convict or current one would you? Something doesn't seem totally "on the level" with your post.

I am guessing by your reaction, the post's on the convicts seem to get the type of reaction one would have when something has hit too close to home.

Kind of like my reaction to your decision to call concerned parents a bunch of names.

Good post Cheryl

The carrier can also be a healthy child.

From the Mayo site:

Keep personal items personal
Keep wounds covered
Sanitize linens
Wash your hands

Oh we(D/FW area) lost one of our teenagers to this infection.

Honestly people. The MRSA germs can live on clothing and hard surfaces for 90 days. If the child infected with the MRSA is not required to be kept home from school anyway, who and how the school was cleaned becomes a mute point. The germs have the ability to be transferred right back to the clean surface as soon as the infected person comes in contact with it again. As for the question of whether or not the inmates were there with children present.... shame on you. Dale Wix is the principal at Wiseman and I feel 110% confident in his judgement. Unfortunately he is REQUIRED to follow the HIPAA rules and MUST do what he is ORDERED by the Sumner County School Board. Just pray that no one (including the poor child already infected) has any significant medical isuues arise. And for the record I have 2 children at Wiseman.

Although I do not appreciate the "over acting parents" jab..I agree (slightly) with DA..I think that the inmates doing a good deed for our schools is not harmful and that we need to appreciate their work, of course, I assume the children were not present during their cleaning visit and have hopes they did a good job. My question is, was the school inspected after the cleaning was finished? Did they take all the precautions they should have? Its hard to say...

OK, all you pious, worried, over-reacting parents. Yes, the schools need to be sanitized -- NOW. There are HOW many schools in Sumner County? And HOW many of you worried parents volunteered to wear protective gloves and masks and go clean YOUR school?

So who is supposed to do it? The inmates, as we used to say, don't have "cooties", but are being allowed to go outside of the jail to work, based on their past good behavior. I would think you'd be grateful to them for being willing to do a nasty job that none of you are willing to do.

Let it drop, will you?

The school board has cut the custodial budget to a pittance. Not enough custodians and most of the ones they have can't work but about 4 or 5 hours a day.

I think the inmates that someone previously referred to were probably from Sumner Cty Jail. I don't know when the cleaning was done, and wether or not kids were present, if it was done after school I see no harm in what they did, how well it got cleaned would be another thing, I've seen them doing road side duties and they seem to not have a care in the world other than they are away from jail. I suppose anything was better than nothing, but hopefully it was followed up by professional cleaners. Didn't JW Wiseman just hold a fall festival at that school the week before? I'm hoping that all school janitors are now cleaning with the recommended bleach solution during regular cleanings, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

They have inmates cleaning the shcools ?? Inmates from where ??

I Have 2 children in Watt Hardison, and there was no notice given to us that there had been a reported case at JW wiseman. We found out from a friend of ours that has kids there. If not for that we would not have known.

If there are any cases reported at my kids school, they will not be going back to school until ALL Portland schools have been cleaned by professional cleaning crews.

One of the worst outbreaks of this has been in Springfield. It is noted that the outbreak seems to be more concentrated to the Springfield High School Atheletic Dept. Our very own Portland Panthers Played this team 2 weeks ago HERE IN PORTLAND. Has anyone thought about this?

This is not something to take lightly, this infection has killed people in the past month. I am amazed there are not more posts about this.

I think that teh cleaning should have happened before a child caught this infections. Inmates? Give me a break people! My daughter will be attending this school next year and MRSA is to not be taken lightly. I also work in healthcare and this is a very serious issue.

I am wondering why parents from the other schools did not get any information on it. I know that the child went to J. W. Wiseman but all of the kids do things together. They ride the bus, play sports, go to church and do other things together. I just hope that we can find a way to stop this from spreading.

I am so surprised not to see more comments on this issue. This is becoming a major issue. Not just in schools, but in all facets of life. Its becoming a major problem that seems to have no real cure. It can strike anyone, anywhere, at any time. I wish the state would make it law that all public and private domains have to report all cases of staph or any infectious virus for that matter to the health board. Its scary to think that our children are subject to this. Its a problem that needs a real answer.

Here is a web site from Mayo Clinic regarding this issue, I found it to cover this infection in great length.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735

Link to the CDC which also covers it in length, at the bottom of the page has lots of useful information for schools, athletics, etc.

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/MRSAinSchools/

This is what I was sent:

10/31/07: Sumner County Schools received its first confirmation of an
MRSA Staph infection during the day on Tuesday, Oct. 30. The case is
at J.W. Wiseman Elementary School in Portland. Wiseman Elementary has
approximately 620 students in grades K-5.

The following are quotes from Steve Doremus, spokesman for Sumner
County Schools.

"Based on the increased awareness of Staph infections due to recent
media reports, we are not surprised that a case of MRSA has been
confirmed in a Sumner County school. Local, regional, and state
health officials have assured us that this situation is not unusual,
nor is it a cause for undue alarm. We began preparing for this
scenario earlier this month, and we were prepared to act when we
received the confirmation on Tuesday. We are taking proactive steps
to protect students and staff by following the advice given to us by
public health officials. One of our first steps was to post a
considerable amount of information about Staph infections, provided
by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, on our website last week in
an effort to educate the public.

"Out of an abundance of caution, a cleaning crew went into Wiseman
Elementary on Tuesday night and thoroughly cleaned the entire
building, all the way down to computer keyboards, to reduce the
potential spread of germs. Appropriate measures have been taken
involving the individual diagnosed with the infection. Privacy laws
prevent us from making any additional comment about the individual
involved.

"Because several cases of non-MRSA Staph infections were reported in
our schools a year ago, our administrators, principals, and staffs
were already on heightened alert for what we are seeing this year.
Extra attention has been given to cleaning locker rooms, common
areas, and other locations where germs can easily spread.

"We will continue to follow this situation closely, and we will work
with health officials to make sure we are taking the appropriate
steps as we move forward."

We will post additional developments as warranted. We have posted a
substantial amount of information concerning this situation on our
website,

http://www.sumnerschools.org/content/view/136/219/

This is also where we will post notification of any additional cases
that are confirmed in our district.

The attached packet of information was prepared on Tuesday afternoon
and is going home with Wiseman students today.

Sumner County Schools has approximately 26,500 students in 42 schools.

One of my children go to Wiseman. He is in a different grade than the child that has MRSA. But that doesn't matter. Did you know they had inmates cleaning the school after the case was discovered? How clean can that be? What I don't understand is why isn't the school closed down? Why didn't they bring in a professional cleaning crew? No one will answer these questions. Iwork in the health care field, and I know how dangerous MRSA can be.

There is a little more info on the Sumner County Schools website, along with the letter sent home to the parents. www.sumnerschools.org